Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Los Angeles, California
Ashley had been to Los Angeles before. She’d even been in the Chief Records headquarters for an afternoon, during a summer course she’d taken on the music business at the University of Southern California between her junior and senior years of college.
But it was one thing to walk in as a college student dreaming of one day working for the biggest music label in the world…and it was another entirely to walk in with Drew Morrison.
It seemed like every single person in the building came out of offices and cubicles to say hello to him.
To fawn over him. To compliment him. To see if he needed a soda or a snack or a bottle of beer or something stronger—anything at all.
And by the time they made it to the corner office where Drew had a meeting set up with the head A&R guy who had discovered him and the president of the label, Drew had introduced her to everyone.
He’d also made sure to tell them all how smart she was, and how happy he was to have her working with him on his tour.
Working with him? That was stretching things big-time, even if she’d had that one good idea about how to reorganize his meet-and-greet room after they’d been talking about wanting to—and not being able to—kiss each other.
She could still hardly believe the things he’d said to her and that she’d said back to him.
The very last thing in the world she’d expected him to say was that he wanted to kiss her.
Honestly, she was still stunned by it twelve hours later.
Not just that, but that he’d wanted to kiss her from the first moment he’d set eyes on her.
Oh. My. God.
Ashley didn’t have much experience with the opposite sex.
In high school, between the glasses and the braces—and the fact that she spent nearly all of her free time in the library reading with her headphones on—she hadn’t exactly been asked out on a lot of dates.
And by not a lot, she meant none. No dates, no kisses, not even the senior prom.
College had been a little different. The braces had come off, and she’d switched over to contacts during the day, at least. She’d gone out on a few dates, made out with a few guys, even fooled around a little. She was still a virgin, of course, but at least she wasn’t totally untouched.
Only, when it came to a man like Drew? She felt as pure as the driven snow.
But even crazier than what they’d said to each other last night was that the more they talked about not being able to kiss, the more desperately she wanted to do it.
Just one kiss.
Just so that she’d know if it was as good as she’d fantasized it would be for the past half-dozen years.
What would that hurt, really? Her father wouldn’t need to know about one teeny, tiny little kiss. And it wasn’t like she was going to end up dating Drew and become his rock ’n’ roll lady.
Besides, if anything, it would just relieve the attraction building up between her and Drew, right? You know, so that both of them could stop turning the kiss into something bigger than it needed to be.
The more she went over it in her head, the more sense it made.
They should kiss. Just once. Just to get it out of their systems. Just so they could move on and be sensible again.
Because surely that’s what would happen if they kissed.
He’d realize he’d been building things up for no reason, and she’d remember that he was way out of her league. As far as a guy could be.
A large man in a dark suit with a booming voice broke her out of her thoughts. “Drew Morrison, live and in the flesh.”
“Robert.” Drew shook his hand. “It’s good to see you.”
Drew was as charming and friendly as always, but today he didn’t seem quite as full of his easy smiles as usual. This morning, as he’d devoured yet another plate of eggs and toast, he’d simply said, “I’ve got to go in and see my label. We’ll see if we can make you some good connections, okay?”
She’d been so worried about things being awkward between them when they woke up that even though he’d had the look of someone heading in for a dreaded dentist’s appointment, she hadn’t asked him what was wrong. Now, she wished she’d been able to shake off her own insecurities to check in with him.
In the desert, he’d said a couple of things about how his label hadn’t totally understood what he was doing with a few elements of his last album. But was there more than that going on?
“Drew, we’re so glad you could stop in today.
” This second man was as thin as the other man was large.
His suit was light gray and tapered down at the ankles so that his pants looked more like leggings than wool slacks.
And he was either a lifelong smoker, or he’d spent too much time yelling in loud venues.
She made a calculated guess that he was Drew’s A&R guy, the Chief Records employee responsible for discovering his talent and bringing him in to sign with the record label.
Drew gave him a one-armed hug. Drawing back, he put his hand in the small of Ashley’s back so that she’d move forward into the group, and her entire body immediately heated up, head to toe.
“Robert, Ansel, this is Ashley Emmit. She’s a friend of mine who’s joined the tour to get an insider’s view of the music business before she heads off to Stanford Business School. ”
“The Biz School,” Robert said. “Very impressive.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she hadn’t actually been accepted yet, but before she had a chance to respond, Robert turned back to Drew and said, “Come on into my office and we’ll chat.”
Inside the large room, there were another half-dozen men who all said hello to Drew, who then introduced her to them the way he had everyone else at the label.
She’d put on her one dress, a simple white sundress, for today’s meeting, and she could see how much she stuck out amongst the sea of dark suits.
In fact, as far as she’d seen, apart from a few administrative staff, all of the employees at the label were male.
Which was funny, considering that well over fifty percent of the people listening to Drew’s music were female. Shouldn’t at least one person with an X chromosome be weighing in along with all the men?
“Your numbers are through the roof, Drew.” The label’s president got comfortable in his big leather chair as she and Drew sat on a big leather couch. “We’ve already talked with Peter to let him know how pleased we are.”
Drew’s manager, Peter Hemsworth, was president and founder of a high-profile music management company.
He managed a dozen top artists and was based out of London, which was why he wasn’t here with them today.
Drew hadn’t said much about Peter to her, just that he liked the guy and appreciated being left alone for the most part rather than micromanaged.
Still, she wondered if Peter should at least be on the phone with them during this meeting.
After all, Drew wasn’t exactly a small-time client.
“We also let him know we’re looking forward to finally hearing those new songs you’ve been promising us. And for you to get back to us with your thoughts on the contract that we sent over a while back for the second album.”
“I got Peter’s email this morning,” Drew said. His words still sounded pretty relaxed, but Ashley had spent enough time with him to notice the way his expression tightened down a bit at the corners of his eyes and mouth.
“The market is primed for a new Drew Morrison album. Social media is going crazy for you. The girls can’t get enough. You’ve done us proud, Drew. Real proud.”
Was it weird, she wondered, to hear himself talked about like that? As Drew Morrison. But she already knew the answer—it had to be weird.
“Thanks,” was all Drew said in response.
“So,” Ansel said into the continued silence, “have you brought any songs in for us on a flash drive? Or maybe you’ll feel more comfortable playing one of the guitars in my office?”
Instead of answering either Robert or Ansel, Drew looked at Ashley.
She wished she knew what he needed from her, because she could see that he was struggling with something.
She wanted to reach for his hand, but it seemed so terribly inappropriate inside the office.
She gave him a small smile instead. One she hoped he could read as: Whatever you do, I’m totally behind you.
After another few seconds, he turned back to the men in suits. “I have one new song I could play for you.”
“Great!” Robert clapped his hands as if he were a king on his music business throne about to hear from the jester brought in to entertain him. Ansel’s guitar was soon in Drew’s hands, and then he began the first few notes of “One More Time.”
Ashley had cried buckets both nights he’d played it on stage, and it wouldn’t matter that she was surrounded by the music industry executives that she’d always hoped to work with—she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep from crying today either.
At first Drew kept his gaze trained on the sound hole in his guitar as he played, but when she sniffled just a little too loudly, he looked up…
and played the rest of the song looking straight at her.
It felt like a concert for one. And it was the most breathtakingly beautiful thing that had ever happened to her.
She honestly forgot all about the other people in the room while he played, but once he got to the end of the song, that final line that absolutely destroyed her every single time—I wish I could see you one more time—she was shocked to realize that no one else in the room was crying.
Okay, so a couple of the executives’ eyes were glassy, but none of them had become a blubbering mess.
Ansel leaned forward. “That song—it’s great, Drew. Real moving. But all those hits on your first album—those are what your fans are going to be expecting you to hit them with again. More fun, sexy songs.” He held up his hands. “Don’t get us wrong, we don’t want to stifle your creativity.”
She waited for Drew to say something, to defend his musical path, wherever it took him.
Instead, he sat silently, a muscle jumping in his jaw.
Suddenly, she realized that this was why he hadn’t been excited about coming here today.
He wasn’t writing new songs at the pace Chief Records was expecting.
And the one new song he had written, the label guys clearly didn’t like.
But she did. She loved it. And so did his fans. She’d seen it for herself.
The problem was, any response Drew made at this point would only end up sounding defensive—and they’d clearly set up the power structure so that he would be on the wrong foot unless he did anything but kowtow to their demands.
Oh sure, Ansel had smiled as he said it, but it was clear that they were still demanding a certain kind of song from Drew.
“Have any of you seen the way his fans react when he plays ‘One More Time’ live?”
Everyone in the room turned to her in surprise—as though they’d forgotten she was there.
Or maybe they were still rolling their eyes at the way she’d sobbed while Drew played.
Normally, she would have felt a little embarrassed to be the center of attention, especially when no one had actually asked her to speak up, but she couldn’t stand to see them all pile on Drew like this.
Even if they were couching the pile-up in compliments about how great he was.
“Drew’s hits, they’re all amazing, and you’re right that people love to dance and sing to them.
But they also love being touched by something that goes so deep.
There’s no one who doesn’t understand how painful it is to lose someone you love.
And, honestly, it’s after they’re wiping away their tears that his fans all really come together.
It’s after ‘One More Time’ that they vow to be his fans for life. ”
Everyone was looking at her as though she’d sprouted a second head—all but Drew, whose expression she couldn’t read—and she knew she needed to try a different tack.
Either that or just stop talking, but she figured it was too late now to backtrack.
Besides, she didn’t want to backtrack. She wanted to stand up for Drew’s right to be whatever kind of artist he wanted to be!
“During the past two days, since Drew played ‘One More Time’ for the first time, it is the song everyone is talking about. Literally thousands of people have been posting about it. Clips of the song. Selfies of themselves crying as they listen to it. They’re telling their own stories of loss and heartbreak.
And they’re whipping everyone who hasn’t heard the song into a frenzy of anticipation, telling them that seeing Drew play it live will be one of the best experiences of their lives. ”
“Really?” Finally, Robert looked interested.
“Yes, really.” At that point, she’d already stepped so far over the boundary that she didn’t hesitate to offer, “I’d be happy to pull together a report on it for you if you’d like.”
“Ashley, is it?” When she nodded, he said, “A report would be excellent. In fact, it makes me wonder why my own social media team isn’t already doing something similar.” He shot a none-too-pleased look at the men in the room.
“We’ve been busy working on other campaigns,” one man said, before quickly adding, “but we will certainly look into this phenomenon Drew’s girlfriend has reported seeing.”
Her eyebrows went up at girlfriend, but she knew right now wasn’t the time to correct anyone’s assumptions. Not when what mattered most was that Drew should love the music he was making and not feel pressured to paint with primary colors.
“Ashley is right about my fans loving the song. And she’s right about a hell of a lot more than that.
” Drew’s voice was low. Firm. As if he dared anyone else from the label to so much as doubt another word out of her mouth.
He looked at Robert and Ansel. “I’ll look over the contract and let you know my thoughts.
” Drew stood, then reached out to help Ashley up. “Ready for a bunch more meetings?”
She still couldn’t quite read his expression as she nodded. “Meetings are my wheelhouse.”
That got a small quirk of the lips out of him, one that she hoped meant he wasn’t upset with her for taking over the meeting. Because, truthfully, she couldn’t stand the thought of upsetting him.
Especially when all she wanted to do was help.